Watch repair device



March 16, 1965 A. MARCUS WATCH REPAIR DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16. 1962 48 6964! 1 M48606 flaw )7,

March 16, 1965 A. l. MARCUS WATCH REPAIR DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 16, 1962 IN VEN TOR. lam/MM 1. mucus. BY

United States Patent 3,173,198 WATCH REPAIR DEVHIE Abraham 1. Marcus, 95 W. Dakota, Detroit, Mich. Filed May 16, 1962, Se No. 195,187 3 Claims. (l. 29-231) This invention relates to the repair of timepieces such as watches and more particularly has reference to a device for accomplishing several of the operations common to such repairs.

The repair of Watches usually requires the disassembly and reassembly of their inner mechanisms including the balance wheel, the cannon pinion and their related parts.

Due to the extremely small dimensions and fragile nature of such parts in most timepieces, great care must be exercised during such operations to avoid distorting or damaging such parts with a resultant effect upon the accuracy of the timepiece. To insure the accuracy of the operations involved, mechanical aids are desirable which will perform the required operations quickly and simply.

The present invention contemplates a device which performs several of the operations related to watch repair, each of the tools of such device being supported and translated by motion of a single structure.

The object of the present device is to provide means for removing the roller table from the balance staff and for replacing the same, means for staking or mounting the balance Wheel on the balance staff, and for measuring the accuracy of such mounting, and means for adjusting the opening in the cannon pinion for proper mounting upon the central shaft which carries the watch hands.

This is accomplished generally by suspending the tools from an upper structure movable vertically by rotation of a fine adjustment screw which is disposed above a stationary base. A blade lying in a vertical plane is supported by and suspended from the upper structure and extends downward towards a similar blade permanently affixed to the base.

The roller table is ordinarily press-fitted on the balance staff and is disposed tightly against a collar or flange on the balance staff. With the present device, the balance staff is mounted between the blades, and the upper structure and blade lowered so as to squeeze the blades between the flange and the roller table and .to lock about the balance staff. The roller table may then be easily pulled off the balance staff.

At the corners of the knife edge of each blade, the lower blade is serrated and the upper one slotted. When a roller table is to be remounted on a balance staff, the table is pushed on to the staff until it contacts the collar, and placed in one of the slots. The upper structure and blade are lowered so the serrated surface squeezes the shoulder of the table tightly about the balance staff.

To properly mount a cannon pinion on the central shaft of a watch, the diameter of the pinion must be carefully adjusted. This entails prick punching the stem of the pinion and testing the diameter for accurate fitting with respect to the central shaft.

With the present device, a punching tool having a retaining shoulder along its length is suspended in the upper structure over a lower support stand having a groove along its upper face and movable in the direction of the groove. The shoulder prevents the tool from falling through the upper structure. The pinion is secured in place in the groove and the upper structure adjusted vertically until the tip of the punch touches the surface of the pinion shaft. The fine adjustment screw is then rotated an amount sufiicient to move the upper structure downward a distance equal to the desired penetration of the shaft. The pinion shaft prevents the tool from moving downward so it remains stationary while the upper structure descends. The tool is then struck at the top with a hammer thus forcing it to move the desired distance into the stem friction fitting it to the shaft. The flange prevents the tool from descending more than the desired distance.

The balance wheel is ordinarily mounted upon the balance staff by staking. Extreme care is required to insure that the balance wheel is properly mounted upon the staff.

In the present device, a diskhaving a circle of holes on its upper face for accommodating balance staffs of varying diameters is rotatably mountedin the stationary base. A staking tool is suspended through an opening in the upper structure directly above a point on the circle of holes. The balance statf is mounted in the appropriate hole, the disk is rotated so as to bring the staff below the staking tool, and the disk is then locked in'positio'n by tightening a screw in the base. The balance wheel is mounted upon the staff, the staking tool lowered adjacent the staff and force is applied to the tool sutlicient to stake the wheel on the staff.

The staking tool and balance staff are then removed from the device, and a stump placed in a large hole on the circle of holes in the disk. An aligning tool consisting of an elongated member having a hollow shaft in one end parallel to its length is then placed in the opening in the upper structure and the disk rotated to bring the stump directly below the aligning tool. The balance staff and Wheel are placed in the stump and the tool lowered until it is adjacent the upper end of the statf. A screw in the upper structure is then tightened to lock the tool in position. The upper structure is then carefully adjusted vertically so that the upper end of the staff fits into the shaft in the aligning tool and the staff is free to rotate about its longitudinal axis. An indicator device is then mounted alongside the device and is used to check the trueness of mounting of the wheel upon the staff.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a tool having a lower portion adapted to hold various watch parts against movement, and an upper part movable by a fine adjustment mechanism adapted to introduce tools to these parts in such manner as to accomplish a number of operations associated with the repair of such watches.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a device for removing the roller table from a balance staff and replacing the same, staking a balance wheel on a balance staff and measuring the accuracy of the mounting, and for prick punching a cannon pinion for accurate fitting on the watch shaft.

Another object of this invention is to provide a porable watch repair device that is simple, accurate, and inexpensive.

Another object of this invention is to provide a Watch repair device which is adaptable to repair watch pants of various sizes and configurations.

These and other objects will be more clear from the following detailed description wherein is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The descrip tion makes reference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of this embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the invention showing the staking operation;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the balance staff and wheel held in position while the mounting is checked for accuracy by an indicator device;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the removal of the roller table from the balance staff;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the lines 8-8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the prick punching of the cannon pinion;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the lines 10-10 in FIG. 9.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the device is generally comprised of a horizontal base 10, vertical posts 12 and 14 fixed to the base, and an upper horizontal structure 16 mounted along the posts.

The posts 12 and 14 are connected at their vertical extremities by a horizontal support member 18. A fine adjustment screw 20 is journaled in the support member 18, the threaded portion 22 of the screw (FIG. 2) extending down into and engaging the upper horizontal structure 16. In this manner, rotation of the head portion 24 of the screw causes the upper structure 16 to move: vertically along the posts 12 and 14.

A first blade support 26 is attached at a recess 28 in the base 10 by a first screw 30 and extends vertically upwards towards the upper structure 16. A first blade 32 is connected by means of soldering or similar means to the upper part of the blade support 26. A second blade 34 is similarly connected to a second blade support 36 which is attached at a recess 38 in the upper structure 16 by means of a second screw 40. The blades are posi tioned directly above one another so that downward movement of the upper structure 16 brings the two blades in contact along their free edges.

Adjacent the corners of the free edge of the first blade 32, serrations 42 extend for a short distance. In directly corresponding manner, grooves 44 extend adjacent the corners of the free edge of the second blade 34.

In operation, a roller table 46 is removed from its balance staff 43 by inserting it between the central portion of the blades 32 and 34 when they are in open position and rotating the screw 26 until the blades squeeze be tween the roller table 46 and the flange portion 50 of the staff, as shown in FIGS. and 6. The roller table may then be pulled off the shaft by any suitable means. Since the hair spring lies along the blade surfaces and clears them during this operation, it need not be removed when the roller table is removed as is necessary with other devices.

A roller table 46 is tightened upon its balance staff 48 by inserting it between the serrations 42 and grooves 44 when the blades are in open position and rotating the screw 20 until the shaft portion of the roller table is squeezed by the blades about the balance staff, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Sufiicient pressure is supplied to the screw 20 to assure that the roller table is adequately tight ened about the staff.

The blades 32 and 34 also find important use in tightening the collets of hair springs so that they may be press fitted on balance staffs. When a hair spring is stripped from a broken balance staff the internal diameter of its collet enlarges so that it will not tightly fit on a new staff.

By inserting the springs collet between the blades 32 and 34 so that the spring lies along the blade surfaces, the collet may be pressed so as to decrease its internal diameter without damaging the hair spring.

A support stand 52 having a linear groove 54 along its upper face is mounted in the base by inserting its lower shaft portion 56 in a recess in the base 10. A screw 58 extends along a threaded hole 60 in the base parallel to the extension of the groove and bears against the shaft portion 56. A spring 62 is disposed between i the base 10 and the shaft portion 56 and normally forces the shaft portion against the screw. In this manner, rotation of the screw moves the support stand 52 in the direction parallel to the extension of the groove.

A punching tool 64 having a shoulder section 66 of increased diameter extends vertically through an opening in the upper structure 16, the operative tip 68 of the tool being disposed immediately above the groove 54.

' of the staking tool for this operation.

To prick punch a cannon pinion, the pinion 70 is placed on the stand 52 by inserting its shaft 72 in the groove 54 .and allowing its head portion 74 to extend beyond the upper surface of the stand, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. .A retaining member 76 is attached by means of a screw "78 to the side of the stand 52 and bears against the head portion 74 of the pinion so as to hold it firmly in position.

The punching tool 64 is inserted in the upper structure .16 with the shoulder 66 restraining the tool from passing completely through the upper structure. The fine adjustment screw 20 is adjusted so as to bring the tool tip 68 to the surface of the pinion shaft 72. The screw 58 in the base 10 is then adjusted to bring the desired point on the pinion shaft 72 directly below the tool tip 68. The -.fine adjustment screw is then rotated an amount corresponding to the vertical distance that it is desired to penetrate the pinion shaft 72. This last rotation will cause the upper structure 16 to descend the desired vertical distance, but the tool, which is free to move vertically in the upper structure, will remain stationary with respect to the pinion 70. The tool is then struck at its uppermost end with a hammer or similar hard object; this auses the tool to descend through the desired distance into the inion shaft. The shoulder section 66 prevents the tool from descending any more than the desired distance. This operation is repeated until the pinion achieves the desired dimension for accurate mounting upon the central shaft of the watch.

At the other end of the device, a disk 80 having a lower axial shaft 82 journaled in a vertical opening in the base 10 is disposed upon the upper surface of the base. The disk contains a series of holes spaced along :an imaginary concentric circle on the disk face including a series of small holes 84 of varying diameter corresponding to the diameters of various sizes of balance staffs :and a large hole 86 suitable to accommodate the lower section of a stump 88.

A screw 90 extends along a threaded hole 92 in the base 19 which terminates at the axial shaft 82 of the disk 30. Thus by tightening the screw 90 against the shaft 82,

' the disk is locked against rotation.

A staking tool 94 having an opening or hole 102 in its lower operative tip is movable in a vertical hole in the upper structure 16 and imaginary circle on the face of the disk 80. A screw @6 extends along a threaded hole in the upper structure 16 which terminates at the staking tool 94. Rotation of the screw 96 thus locks the staking tool 94 against vertical movement.

In staking a balance wheel to a balance staff, the disk 80 is rotated until the desired hole 84 is directly below the staking tool 94. The disk is then locked in position by means of the screw 90. The balance staff 48 is placed in the hole and the balance wheel 98 placed on the balance staff, as shown in FIG. 3. The staking tool 94 is brought down with its opening 102 fitting over the end of the statf 43 and a hammer is applied to the upper end of the tool 94 to complete the staking operation. 7

The tool 94 is then raised and the screw 96 tightened to hold it in raised position. The staff 48 and wheel 98 are removed, the lower screw 99 loosened, and the disk 8%} rotated until the large hole 86 is below the staking tool. The stump 83 is then placed in the hole 86 and the screw 90 retightened. The balance staff 48 and wheel 98 are then mounted on the stump 88 with the lower part of the staff disposed within the hole 100 in the top of the stump. The fine adjustment screw 20 is then rotated to bring the hole 102 in the tip of the staking tool 94 about the upper end of the staff 48. The screw 20 is adjusted until the staff 48 and wheel 93 are free to rotate about the axis of the staff. Alternatively, a separate aligning tool having an opening in its lower tip adapted to fit over the end of the staff 48 may be utilized in place An indicator device 164 is then employed, as shown in FIG. 4, to check the accuracy of the mounting of the balance wheel 98 5 upon the balance statf 48. The wheel and stafi are rotated while the observer notes the distance between the indicator pointer 106 and the balance wheel 98. If the distance remains constant as the wheel is rotated, it indicates that the wheel is properly mounted upon the staff.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A watch repair device, comprising: a base adapted to be supported on a plane surface; a pair of parallel posts fixed to and extending away from the surface of the base opposite to that which is adapted to be supported on the plane surface, at a spaced distance from one another and at spaced distances from the extreme ends of said base; an upper structure having a pair of spaced apertures adapted to receive said posts so as to support said upper structure for sliding movement on said posts toward and away from said base; a support member fixed to the extreme ends of said posts so as to bridge the distance between the posts; an adjustment screw journalled in said support member in threaded contact with an aperture in said upper structure, whereby rotation of the screw will cause movement of the upper structure along the posts either toward or away from said base; a first blade member fixed on the same surface of the base from which the posts extend, between said posts, and extending to ward said upper structure; a second blade member disposed on the surface of the upper structure opposite to the base, between the post apertures in said upper structure, extending toward said first blade, said first and second blades being in opposed relationship whereby upon sufiicient movement of the upper structure toward the base the opposed surfaces of the first and second blades engage one another; and extensions supported on said 6 upper structure and extendin away from said posts in a direction in the plane of said posts, said extensions being cooperative with opposed areas on the base to support additional tool members requiring motion of parts toward and away from one another.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the opposed blade surfaces are corrugated in a complementary fashion so that when the blades are in abutment to one another the grooves of one blade meet the ridges of the other blade in corresponding relation.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said grooves and corrugations are disposed only at each end of their respective abutting blade edges.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 422,013 2/90 Ekstrom 29--23 1 892,3 09 6/08 Russell 29-231 1,494,35 6 5/24 Herrmann et a1 81-6 2,421,310 5 47 Berlincourt 816 2,566,695 9/51 Cormier et al 816 2,587,139 2/52 Glover 8l6 X 2,679,776 6/54 Filip 81-6 2,800,817 7/57 Lamm 81-6 2,874,455 2/59 Collins 29231 FOREIGN PATENTS 246,062 4/ 12 Germany.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner. 

1. A WATCH REPAIR DEVICE, COMPRISING: A BASE ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A PLANE SURFACE; A PAIR OF PARALLEL POSTS FIXED TO AND EXTENDING AWAY FROM THE SURFACE OF THE BASE OPPOSITE TO THAT WHICH IS ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON THE PLANE SURFACE, AT A SPACED DISTANCE FROM ONE ANOTHER AND AT SPACED DISTANCES FROM THE EXTREME ENS OF SAID BASE; AN UPPER STRUCTURE HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED APERTURES ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SAID POSTS SO AS TO SUPPORT SAID UPPER STRUCTURE FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT ON SAID POSTS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SID BASE; A SUPPORT MEMBER FIXED TO THE EXTREME ENDS OF SAID POSTS SO AS TO BRIDGE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE POSTS; AN ADJUSTMENT SCREW JOURNALLED IN SAID SUPPORT MEMBER IN THREADED CONTACT WITH AN APERTURE IN SAID UPPER STRUCTURE, WHEREBY ROTATION OF THE SCREW WILL CAUSE MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER STRUCTURE ALONG THE POSTS EITHER TOWARD OR AWAY FROM SAID BASE; A FIRST BLADE MEMBER FIXED ON THE SAME SURFACCE OF THE BASE FROM WHICH THE POSTS EXTEND, BETWEEN SAID POSTS, AND EXTENDING TOWARD SAID UPPER STRUCTURE; A SECOND BLADE MEMBER DISPOSED ON THE SURFACE OF THE UPPER STRUCTURE OPPOSITE TO THE BASE, BETWEEN THE POST APERTURES IN SAID UPPER STRUCTURE, EXTENDING TOWARD SAID FIRST BLADE, SAID FIRST AND SECOND BLADE BEING IN OPPOSED RELATIONSHIP WHEREBY UPON SUFFICIENT MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER STRUCTURE TOWARD THE BASE THE OPPOSED SURFACES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND BLADES ENGAGE ONE ANOTHER; AND EXTENSIONS SUPPORTED ON SAID UPPER STRUCTURE AND EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID POSTS IN A DIRECTION IN THE PLANE OF SAID POSTS, SAID EXTENSIONS BEING COOPERATIVE WITH OPPOSED AREAS ON THE BASE TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL TOOL MEMBER REQUIRING MOTION OF PARTS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER. 